This space is usually reserved for some A-Class shoehorning of a current event into the world of podcasts. Instead, I wanted to earnestly state how great a week it was for the medium. There were some remarkably funny episodes, four appearances by Paul F. Tompkins, and an episode of WTF that will go down as one of the most affecting episodes of anything, across any medium, of 2012. Sometimes it’s difficult in a given week to find five particularly noteworthy shows, while this week there were enough to fill three columns. Podcasting is a volatile medium and that is why its fans are so attracted to it—at any moment the paradigm can shift. Humbly, this week seemed like one of those moments.
BRADFORD: Comedy Bang Bang #140 - Nick Offerman, James Adomian
An old favorite and a new one drop by Earwolf Studios for this week’s Comedy Bang Bang, making for an especially funny and interesting installment of the popular podcast. The first half of the program sees host Scott Aukerman eschewing the never-serious tone that is typical to Comedy Bang Bang to have a more grounded conversation with Parks & Rec’s Nick Offerman. While Offerman, who’s new to the podcast circuit, is completely different from his character Ron Swanson, he’s no less fascinating. Aukerman and Offerman are both in fine form throughout their funny and engaging conversation, touching on topics that include Offerman’s past brushes with the law (he’s been to jail twice!), the Parks & Rec casting gauntlet, and my favorite moment of the episode, a story Offerman relays about a woman who thought “LOL†meant “lots of love†and proceeded to use the acronym in a condolence e-mail to a friend who recently lost a loved one. The podcast returns to that usual Comedy Bang Bang wackiness when old gun James Adomian comes in as Paul Giamatti, delivering the kind of high-energy, hilarious performance that few others in the podcast world are capable of besides Adomian. Adomian, once a regular member of Scott Aukerman’s Comedy Bang Bang Players, has appeared on the show very rarely since moving from LA to New York last year, but his presence on is always a welcome sight and pretty much guarantees hilarity is on the way. Aukerman, Offerman, and Adomian are at their best in an episode of Comedy Bang Bang that demonstrates the show performing at its absolute peak.
JESSE: WTF with Marc Maron #245 – Todd Glass
I found myself pausing the episode every ten minutes or so because I was physically overwhelmed by how powerful it was (and I feared the cold would freeze tears on my face). Beyond the intense resonance of hearing a person admit something so fundamental about themselves, I found myself taken aback by Glass as a performer. In all the deserved coverage of this episode, most forget to mention how hilarious it is at times. Maron and Glass throughout their very frank, very heavy conversation are able to riff and find the dark comedy in all of this. Later in the episode, Maron made the point that he had never seen Glass so focused, so cleared headed, so honest and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve had the joy of seeing Glass perform a few times and though he was always funny, there was something missing, Todd himself. It is very, very, very, very, very, very, very exciting to think of seeing Glass now without him having to always walk on eggshells with himself. Glass admits it’s going to take time but, as this episode proved, he obviously has a lot to say about the subject. I like to think of it like he has 47 years of jokes stored up, ready to destroy for the right audiences. I recommend being in one of those audiences.
JOEL: Pod F. Tompkast #14 - Paul Scheer, Jen Kirman
The hardest working man in podcasting is back! Paul F. Tompkins’s latest episode of his kinda, sorta monthly variety show, The Pod F. Tompkast, is another SPLENDID one. Following Tompkins’ lead for more “splendid†usage. The show follows a similar haphazard path of previous episodes: the best kind of rambling, sketches, a Jen Kirkman call and a live show clip with Paul Scheer. The rambles – let’s just start calling them that – feature Tompkins discussing a make believe heaven/hell experience, word usage fun, the importance of milkshakes and much more. The Great Undiscovered Project – the best kind of self-indulgence – returns with another segment, layering the ridiculousness even more. This time Iced-T and the gang debate which characters they’ll play in the project. Characters talking about characters. I told you it was ridiculous. This turns into Tompkins giving himself comedy therapy, examining what all that Great Undiscovered Project business really means. There’s also Tompkins poking fun at Kirkman’s home security neurosis and a fun live show clip with a “sick†Paul Scheer having Tompkins entertain him. Tompkins achieves the “splendid†comedy feat of combining the personal and absurd. Bonus: he also released an extra clip this week, featuring more Jen Kirkman call-in fun.
MARC: The Bugle #178
Many enjoy the comedy of John Oliver, either as a correspondent on The Daily Show on Comedy Central, his standup or, perhaps, his recurring role on NBC’s Community. However, only recently was it that I discovered the delightfully silly verbal jousting between he and Andy Zaltzman on The Bugle podcast, produced in the UK in association with the London Times Online. Those in the know are aware that this duo (along with producer Chris, proceeded by producer Tom) has been pumping out shows for about three and half years. This weekly show does a great job of ripping into news items and current events from around the world, such as Oliver’s rant in this episode about scientists setting the “bullshit†nuclear Doomsday Clock one minute closer to midnight this past week. And every once in a while, co-host Zaltzman exhibits a weakness for puns that seems to drive Oliver mad. The best humor is based in truth, however, and both of the hosts clearly do their homework as they rattle off a variety of statistics and facts about the subjects they’re maligning. But, alas, it all seemed to be coming to an end with this past episode — they’d made no secret that the Times Online had sacked the lads and this episode is the last to have been produced under that stately banner. (Not to mention have a great deal of fun and hilarity at the news legend’s expense with their parting salvos.) But — Hello, Buglers! — there’s good news! Just announced late Tuesday was the news that The Bugle will continue uninterrupted, now to be housed on SoundCloud. (And if you subscribe via iTunes, you should automatically get the new feed…)
ROGER: Sklarbro Country #77 - Andy Daly, Jason Nash, James Adomian
A long time ago, someone who had just told a joke that wasn’t laughed at defensively said that comedy is subjective. This is of course ridiculous: Andy Daly’s appearances on Comedy Bang Bang and improv4humans as the characters “Hot Dogâ€, a man with an unhealthy obsession of Sha Na Na and “multiple-refereeâ€, an individual dressed as a ref with a whistle that goes around town making judgments in inappropriate places were the funniest episodes those podcasts ever released. It’s only fitting that when Daly finally had the opportunity to sit down and talk about his path to improv and subsequent podcast stardom as himself, he appeared on Sklarbro Country with The Sklar Brothers, fellow survivors of the late 90’s New York comedy scene. Because of the friendship between the guest and the hosts the conversation was rapid and easy-going, touching on Daly’s beginnings in New York working at a Benningan’s where he was literally not allowed to quit and being a part of the first UCB workshop before diving into “the craft†of comedy and Daly’s sports related roles on Eastbound and Down and Semi-Pro. The Sklars strangely enough actually felt guilty about having Daly on for a large portion of the podcast, going so far as to unnecessarily apologize to the listeners on the duration of the interview after it was completed. The appearances by Jason Nash as Bruce Jenner and James Adomian as Gary Busey fresh off his turn on Celebrity Wife Swap were entertaining as always, surely appeasing those wanting to hear less shop talk and more humorous exaggerations of shameless emasculated celebrities and famous sociopaths.
HONORABLE MENTION:
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Doug Loves Movies #519 - Patton Oswalt, David Cross, Wayne Federman
Pop My Culture #64: Part 2 - “Pop The Cork: The Worst of 2011â€
The Dead Authors Podcast Chapter 5: Carl Sagan – Matt Gourley
The Long Shot #416: “Live From The Improv Lab†– Morgan Murphy
Thrilling Adventure Hour: Beyond Belief – “A Dave At The Racesâ€
You’ve Made It Weird #14 – Marc Maron
WTF w/ Marc Maron #244 - Steven Wright
Jesse David Fox is a freelance writer, cat person, and Jew (in that order). He lives in Brooklyn. His iPod is broken.
Bradford Evans is a writer living in Los Angeles.
Roger Cormier has been retweeted by Dan Harmon on two separate occasions. In his spare time he asks Rupert Murdoch questions
Joel Mandelkorn is the co-Founder of The Plop List, Producer at CleftClips, Producer of The Super Serious Show.
Marc Hershon is host of Succotash, the Comedy Podcast Podcast and author of I Hate People!